Crown asks: Who do pair represent?

The Crown wants Rudy Taylor and Patu Hohepa to specify who they represent in their Waitangi Tribunal claim challenging Treaty settlements planned for Te Rarawa and other Te Hiku Forum iwi.

The Wai 2344 claim the two men filed with the tribunal on November 17 alleges proposed Te Hiku Forum settlements would remove the Crown's ability to provide Treaty redress to Hokianga whanau and hapu and effectively erase the Ngapuhi presence in North Hokianga.

Messrs Taylor and Hohepa, with the support of Hokianga whanau and hapu, asked the tribunal to urgently investigate their grievances against the Crown during its Te Paparahi o Te Raki district inquiry.

Tribunal deputy chairwoman Judge Stephanie Milroy directed the Crown and other interested parties to respond to the application for an urgent hearing by noon on December 13.

A Crown memorandum filed on Wednesday asks the tribunal to direct Messrs Taylor and Hohepa to specify what hapu and whanau they represent.

In the memorandum, Crown lawyer Jeremy Prebble questions whether the two men are purporting to represent claimants and hapu or whanau that will have their settlements dealt with under the umbrella of the Te Rarawa deed of settlement.

"This issue is central to the question of whether the present claimants are in essence bringing a mandate dispute or whether the claimants are seeking to assert overlapping interests in the Te Rarawa area of interest," he says.

Mr Prebble asks the tribunal to tell the two men to provide the requested information by Monday.

He also requests a three-day extension to the December 13 deadline for it to respond to the Wai 2344 claim.

Meanwhile, a memorandum which Te Runanga o Ngati Hine lawyer Michael Doogan filed with the tribunal on Wednesday questions the adequacy of tribunal resources to conduct stage 2 of its Te Paparahi o Te Raki district inquiry.

Mr Doogan records tribunal comment on the issue and includes a decision by Justice McGechan which includes the statement: "The tribunal is not being resourced to operate, and is not able to operate, in a satisfactory manner."